This may be one of the easiest way to build a robot with a complete custom design. You can buy fischertechnik® from ebay® and get motors, gears, switches, lights, etc. The best thing is, that you can try out many different robot designs. Just disassemble your current robot and build a new one!
(*) The pictures show the original version with an XBee module. WiFly modules are pin compatible with the XBee modules.
The rotary encoders use a CNY70 reflective optical sensor and a disc consisting of black and white sectors. The CNY70 transistor is connected directly to the ATmega1284P port pins. This seems to work, but i have not fully tested the accuracy of this circuit.
Although i use a fischertechnik® Power Block in my robot design which can be equipped with 6 AA batteries, it is always better to use a LiPo pack to drive the robot, since they can deliver more current. In this case its a 2 cell 7,2V 2000 mAh LiPo.
This was my first PCB with a solder mask and silk screen ( Bungard laminate).
But this is a lot of work and i think it's only worthwhile if the PCB's are visible in the finished product.
Eagle files (Schematics and PCB) can be found in the project file down below.
![]() | The source code for this project is hosted on GitHub: https://github.com/grappendorf/fischerbot |